Al-Qaida places bounty on head of Jewish U.S. envoy to Yemen

(JTA) — Al-Qaida in Yemen has placed a bounty on the head of the U.S. ambassador in Sanaa, Gerald Feierstein.

In a message posted on terrorist websites, al-Qaida offered three kilograms worth of gold, or about $160,000, to anyone who kills the ambassador, who is Jewish.

The group also offered cash for the killing of American soldiers inside Yemen. Both offers are valid for the next six months, according to The Associated Press.

The statement called the awards a way to “inspire and encourage our Muslim nation for jihad,” the statement reportedly said.

Feierstein has been ambassador to Yemen since September 2010. He formerly served as deputy chief of mission in Islamabad.

The Daily Beast quoted an unnamed Yemeni government official as saying that Feierstein is “very well protected” and that the “threats are taken seriously, and he is the most secured diplomat in Yemen.”

Al-Qaida in Yemen called on Muslims to kill U.S. diplomats working in Muslim countries following the release of a trailer of an anti-Muslim film showing the Prophet Muhammad in a negative light in September. Four U.S. diplomats, including the ambassador to Libya, were killed in Benghazi in September.